Three killed as Cyclone Hudhud slams into India's east coast

Indian fishermen negotiate their skiff through rough waves ahead of Cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam on October 11, 2014

Indian fishermen negotiate their skiff through rough waves ahead of Cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam on October 11, 2014 (AFP Photo/)

Hyderabad (India) (AFP) - Three people were killed Sunday despite a mass evacuation when Cyclone Hudhud slammed into India's east coast with winds of almost 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour, downing power lines and closing roads and railways.

Around 300,000 people living along the coast in the worst-hit state of Andhra Pradesh were evacuated before the storm struck around 11.30 am (0600 GMT) on Sunday.

More than 100,000 others had been moved from their homes in neighbouring Orissa state by late afternoon as the storm headed for them.

"We have had three deaths since this morning," said Natrajan Prakasam, a Disaster Management Commission official in Andhra Pradesh in southeast India.

Two people were crushed by falling trees, while the third was killed when a wall collapsed in heavy rain, he told AFP.

India put its navy and coastguard on high alert ahead of the storm and urged residents to stay indoors as the cyclone passed by, warning of large waves known as storm surges.

Some flights were cancelled while bus and train services in the worst-hit areas were suspended.

The head of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) O.P. Singh said the main highway in the port city of Visakhapatnam, which was in the eye of the storm as it hit, was strewn with fallen trees and electricity pylons.

"The two big challenges facing the NDRF team are clearing roads and evacuation and rescue work," Singh said.

In Srikakulam, one of the five coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh in the path of the storm, an entire village was cut off in the immediate aftermath of Hudhud's landfall, he added. However, the exact number of people stranded was still unknown.

India's east coast and neighbouring Bangladesh are routinely hit by severe storms between April and November that cause deaths and widespread property damage.

The region is populated by fishermen and small-scale farmers, many of whom live in flimsy huts with thatched roofs or shanties.